Gross misconduct alleged in lye discharge

Saturday

A state board investigating the discharge of lye into the public water system in April is alleging gross misconduct and negligence by the municipal plant operators.

The panel said its investigation has determined that the plant supervisor was not properly licensed and an employee failed to immediately disclose the problem when he noticed it at 6:10 a.m. April 25.

The state Division of Professional Licensure this week ordered Gregory J. Karpowicz, who was chief operator of the Spencer Water Department, and Bruce R. Guyan, the former assistant operator, to respond to charges involving the April incident, which sent more than 100 people to hospitals for burns and other health issues after a harmful amount of lye poured into the public water supply.

The men have 21 days to request an administrative hearing and explain why they should not be fined, have their water-operator licenses revoked or suspended, or be subject to a court order that could bar the men from “performing services in the drinking water profession,” according to documents obtained yesterday by the Telegram & Gazette,

The two men were reassigned to other tasks shortly after the incident and were barred in May from running the town’s water-treatment system pending the result of the investigation, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Joseph M. Ferson, DEP spokesman, said yesterday the agency continues to monitor developments and the two operators are not “currently listed on staffing plans” at the water-treatment plant.

Records show the state license board served show-cause orders Wednesday to Mr. Guyan at his home at 100 Paxton Road and to Mr. Karpowicz at his home at 54 Borkum Road.

Both men are accused of gross misconduct and negligence. According to the state orders issued to the two men, “On or about April 25, 2007, numerous residents of Spencer … were burned by contact with the contaminated water due to your above-described conduct.”

A call placed to Mr. Karpowicz’s home yesterday was not immediately returned. Mr. Guyan could not be reached by telephone for comment.

The show-cause order issued to Mr. Karpowicz, dated Sept. 19, says: “Your current licenses with the Board are not at the requisite level to allow you to serve as Chief Operator for the Town of Spencer.”

The show-cause orders to both men were written by Helen Peveri, executive director of the state Board of Certification of Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities. The board is a branch of the state license board, part of the state Office of Consumer Protection.

The order alleges that Mr. Karpowicz violated the law “for engaging in conduct which places into question your competence to practice the profession, including, but not limited to, gross misconduct; practicing the profession beyond the authorized scope of your license, certificate, registration or authority; practicing the profession with gross incompetence; or practicing the profession with negligence on 1 or more than 1 occasion.”

The order issued to Mr. Guyan says, “On or about the morning of April 25, 2007, at approximately 6:10 a.m., you arrived to find the pH high/low alarm ringing inside the building to indicate elevated pH levels in the water. You failed to immediately notify Gregory J. Karpowicz, the Chief Operator.”

The order to Mr. Guyan, also alleging gross misconduct, states that he was at the plant April 24; “Upon completion of maintenance you failed to return the chemical feed pump back to the ‘automatic operation mode.’… As a result of the above-described event, the pH high/low alarm sounded to indicate elevated pH levels in the water. However, the alarm was not connected to the auto-dialer, so the alarm only sounded within the building without notifying the appropriate people outside the building.”

Spencer declared a state of emergency April 25 and the DEP ordered a complete ban on water use. On April 27, the DEP determined the water was safe again, and the state of emergency was lifted.

Town Administrator Carter Terenzini said yesterday, “This is not any great news … I am pleased these fellows are finally getting the opportunity to get these cases heard … This is notification of a hearing. The results are not preordained.”

The town administrator said the men have not asked the town to pay any legal costs, to date.

Because of the April 25 incident, Peabody-based Weston & Sampson has been operating the water system on the town’s behalf. The town is paying Weston & Sampson $3,500 to $4,800 per week, according to information Mr. Terenzini provided to selectmen in May.

Earlier this month, the DEP announced that Spencer was assessed a $34,250 penalty because of the April discharge of sodium hydroxide, or lye, into the public water supply.

However, if the town complies with the corrective action plan contained in a consent order, the fine is reduced to $2,000. Sodium hydroxide is used to prevent pipe corrosion.

Mr. Terenzini declined yesterday to discuss which town official may have been responsible for checking whether Mr. Karpowicz’s water-plant license was adequate, or whether there was operator negligence.

At the time of the incident, the town Web site listed Margaret Bacon as Water Department superintendent.

Mr. Terenzini told a reporter her name was removed from that designation on the Web site to more accurately describe operational reality.

Ms. Bacon is not mentioned in the orders to Mr. Guyan and Mr. Karpowicz.

George K. Weber, director of the Division of Professional Licensure, said on April 27 that Ms. Bacon was not licensed to operate the Spencer system.

An ad hoc blue-ribbon committee appointed by Mr. Terenzini to examine the incident is expected to provide selectmen with a report next week, the group’s secretary said Tuesday.

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